Using MEAP Released Test Items

Transcription

Using MEAP
Released
Test Items
Developed by
Deborah Wahlstrom
Successline Inc ©2006
1
In this module, you’ll learn to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify the pieces and parts of a
released test.
Use the released test as a tool for
improving the teaching and learning
process in your classroom, school, or
district.
Develop a greater understanding of the
standards, benchmarks, and grade level
content expectations.
Connect the information in Released
Tests to the MEAP Score Reports.
Using MEAP Released Test Items ♦ Deborah Wahlstrom ♦ Successline Inc ©2006
Did you know?

Many state departments of education publish
released test items.
Words to Know
released test: A test that was previously taken by
students, is no longer being used, and includes only
the scored items.
released test item: A released test item is one that
was once used on the state test as a “live” item – or
an item that counted toward a student’s score.
Web Links

www.michigan.gov
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Get to know the MEAP released tests.
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Get to know the scoring key.
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Using Released Test Items in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Curriculum
• Study the released test items to continue to
unpack the standards.
• Analyze the thinking levels for each of the
questions. Determine if the Levels of Thinking
do indeed match that of the standard it was
intended to assess.
• Determine WHICH PART of a standard or GLCE
has been assessed. If you have unpacked the
standards at the district level, match the test
questions up to the unpacked standard. One
standard could have many parts – so you want
to see which part is being tested each time the
test comes around.
Instruction
• Conduct a wrong-answer analysis of the test
items (using the results from the MEAP tests).
Determine, based on the wrong answers
chosen, WHY students missed questions. Use
this information to make adjustments in your
lesson plans.
• Consider what students know and don’t know –
and design learning and/or booster lessons for
students.
• Go through the items and make a list, item by
item, of what a student must know how to do in
order to do well on the item. Make a note of the
knowledge and skills a student must have to do
well on each item.
Assessment
• Use the items as a simulation test.
• Place an item – or a group of items – on an overhead. Have
students answer the items, and then share how they got their
answers.
• Show students JUST the item stem. See if they can figure
out the answer. Then show students the answer choices.
• See if the released test item might become a predictor for
how students will perform on the state test the next time
around. For example, give 5th graders the 6th grade test
(which measures 5th grade content). See where your
students are. Use the data for summer school planning.
Keep the results and see if students who passed the released
test this spring also pass their MEAP test next fall. Also see
if students who do well on the released items also do well on
your own school or district benchmark tests.
• Give the tests (or part of the tests) to parents at Open House
to help them see what kinds of items are on the state tests.
• Develop a list of vocabulary words from the
released test items. Compare this list to the lists
you’re already using.
• Make online interactive quizzes with the test questions. You
have permission to use these for your own educational use –
according to the Department of Education.
• Go through the curriculum guide and place a
post-it note on the pages in the curriculum
where students didn’t perform well on the
MEAP.
• Verify how well the test is put together. Is it high quality?
Respond to the myth that the state tests are not high quality.
• Review the test length and difficulty of the questions.
• Develop benchmark tests with a special focus on the strands
that are areas of weakness for students.
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t an item
u
o
b
a
k
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ts to th
n
e
d
u
t
s
h
e out the
r
u
ig
f
Teac
m
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ving th
a
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swer
y
n
b
a
m
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t
ste
g
re seein
o
f
e
b
r
e
w
ans
choices.
3. Then show students the answer
choices.
1. Show students just the item stem.
4. Discuss the results. Ask students
2. Individually or in groups, have
students determine what the
answer should be. Have
students share their answers.
questions such as, “How did you
go about solving this problem?”
“Did the answer you came up with
also show up on the list of answer
choices?” “When you take a test,
why might it be a good test-taking
technique to focus on the question
part of the item before focusing too
much on the answer choices?”
Item Source: MEAP Released Test Items, Grade 4 Mathematics, Fall 2005
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What is the correct answer?
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Three-Tiered
Approach to
Developing
Vocabulary
3rd
Tier
2nd
Tier
1st
Tier
Content words
Low-frequency words
Words needed to understand the concept
nutrient, digestive, ingest
Academic words
Found in multiple curriculum areas
develop, example, create, add
Basic words
run, ball, is
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l ar y
u
b
a
c
o
v
f
st o
i
l
a
p
t
o
s
l
e
e
t
d
e
Dev
s
a
rele
e
h
t
m
o
r
f
words
items.
Academic Words
Content Words
most effective
most likely
combine
reflected
checklist for
revision
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Develop a list of vocabulary words – Mathematics Example
Academic Words
Content Words
both
complete
fact family
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Make a master list of words – 6th Grade MEAP ELA Test
Academic Words
Content Words
These are vocabulary words that are
important to know to be successful in any
subject area – these types of words can
show up on any test. All teachers can
help teach these words.
These are vocabulary words that are
important to this content area. The
content-area teacher has responsibility
for teaching these words.
according
best describes
both
combine
common
complete
connected
cross-test questions
describes
important
intentionally
most effective
most likely
mostly
organize
paired reading selection
probably
resource materials
response
selection
summary
audience
capitalized
central idea
characters
checklist for revision
details
examples
introduction
phrases
position
punctuated
main characters
sentences
setting
solution
story map
theme
words
1.
Go through the test and develop a
list of vocabulary words. Include
BOTH academic and content words.
2.
Add the words from the academic list
to your school’s master word list of
important words for students to know
to be successful in school.
3.
Add the words from the content word
list to your curriculum documents.
Cross-reference these words against
any vocabulary word lists you
already have and use.
This IS NOT a time sump. It
takes only ten minutes to check
the vocabulary for a test.
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Activity
Circle each of the words on this
page that a student would have to
know in order to understand the
test question. Focus on academic
and content words.
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Con
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estio
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i
ly.
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analys
p
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form
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s
t
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stud
Did you know?

You can conduct a wrong answer analysis on your
own school and district tests.
You can design good item distractors by using
those that uncover mistakes that students make
and misconceptions they have.
Words to Know
wrong-answer analysis: With the results of a test,
studying the incorrect answers that students gave to
gain insights about why they chose the wrong
answer.
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Follow these three steps in conducting a wrong-answer
analysis for questions where students performed poorly.
1. Determine which test items you want
to focus on. (all below 80%, the very
lowest, etc.)
2. Conduct a wrong-answer analysis
for those items. Answer the
question, “Why did students give this
option? What did they probably do
wrong? (Of course, we’ll turn those
“wrongs” into “rights.”)
Recognizing misconceptions is
critical to targeting instruction to
help students clarify their
thinking.
3. Use the information from your
wrong-answer analysis for
instructional purposes.
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Work from the data – the school’s item analysis report.
Pleasantville Public Schools
0000000000000
Pleasantville Middle
School
0000
00
Released Test Item #3
Only 56% of the students answered
this correctly (answer choice B). A
total of 28% of the students gave
answer choice A as the correct
answer.
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Conduct a wrong-answer analysis for questions where students
performed poorly.
Wrong-Answer Analysis
28%
56%
t
correc
r
e
w
ans
11%
5%
This is a summary, but not the BEST
summary. Students may not have read
the rest of the answer choices!
This is a summary, but not the BEST
summary.
This response does not include key
details such as the foot accident, Ride
to Pride, and becoming a rodeo rider.
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performed poorly.
Wro
ng-A
nsw
er A
6%
naly
s
is
19%
37%
t
correc
er
w
s
n
a
35%
Activity
It’s your turn to give this a try. Try
a wrong-answer analysis on this
page – and the next two pages.
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performed poorly.
2%
29%
t
correc
er
w
s
n
a
0%
67%
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performed poorly.
35%
t
correc
er
w
s
n
a
24%
7%
33%
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Res
p
Rea onse t
ding o Pa
ir
Sel
ecti ed
on
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Wr
Kno iting F
rom
wle
d
ge
Exp
erie and
nce
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Pe
Stud er Resp
o
ent
Writ nse to
ing
a
Sam
ple
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Suggested Application Activity
Choose one of the three techniques that we presented in
this module. Remember – Lessons that teach students
how to read the item stem; vocabulary development; and
wrong-answer analysis.
Choose one of the Released Test Item booklets and apply
the technique to the entire released test.
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Suggested Application Activity
Choose one of the three choices from the chart below.
How to Read the
Item Stem
Vocabulary
Development
Wrong-Answer
Analysis
Prepare a set of overheads that
you can use with a whole group.
Design the overheads so that you
can use the released test item and
its corresponding answers to
teach students how to think about
what the question is asking before
they rush to choose an answer.
Go through a Released Item Test
Booklet of your choice. Make a
chart with two columns. In one
column, place all of the academic
words you find in the test. In the
other column, place all of the
content words you find. Compare
this list to the vocabulary that’s
included with your district
curriculum. Share the list with
others.
Look at your data and choose the
items in your Released Test Items
booklet where students did not
perform as well as you would have
liked. Perform a wrong-answer
analysis on each of the items you
chose.
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Remember
The released test is a resource – not the curriculum.
The best way to help students do better on the state test is
to focus on the district curriculum!
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